The Tseung Kwan O line (Chinese: 將軍澳綫) is one of the ten lines of the MTR system in Hong Kong, indicated by the colour purple. It is currently 12.3 kilometres (7.6 mi) long, taking 15 minuted to travel throughout the entire line.
During the morning peak period, the Tseung Kwan O line uses 15 trains to maintain a frequency of 2.5 minutes between Tseung Kwan O and North Point.
Route map
Geographically accurate map of the Tseung Kwan O line
Route description
The Tseung Kwan O line is the first MTR line with no tracks on viaducts. It was the only line with tracks completely in tunnels until the completion of LOHAS Park station, which there are two short sections nearby that are not in tunnels. The stations of Yau Tong, Po Lam and LOHAS Park are at ground level, but are completely shielded to minimise noise to the surrounding development. The rest of the line has its tracks located underground.
Within Tseung Kwan O new town, the line splits into two branches east of Tseung Kwan O station. One branch reaches Hang Hau and Po Lam stations in the northern part of the new town, whereas the southward branch connects LOHAS Park station in Area 86. LOHAS Park is a large residential development built above the Tseung Kwan O Depot, where the trains of the line are maintained.
Train operations
Rotem EMU train traveling through the LOHAS Park portal
Operation of the line is relatively complex because of the split into two branches at Tseung Kwan O.
The majority of trains on the line run through from Po Lam to North Point and vice versa. Through service between LOHAS Park and North Point is only provided during rush hour; during non-peak periods, LOHAS Park is only served by "shuttle trains" that terminate at Tiu Keng Leng, operating at 12-minute intervals. Passengers travelling to and from LOHAS Park during non-peak hours are required to change trains at Tiu Keng Leng or Tseung Kwan O in order to continue their journey.
Train headways are as follows:
Rush hour: One through train to/from LOHAS Park after two trains to/from Po Lam
North Point - Po Lam trains: every 2.5 or 4 minutes
North Point - LOHAS Park trains: every 7–8 minutes
combined headway between North Point and Tseung Kwan O is 2.5 minutes.
Non-peak period:
Mon-Fri, Sat (10:00-20:00) and Sun (09:00-20:00)
North Point - Po Lam trains: every 4 minutes
Tiu Keng Leng - LOHAS Park shuttle trains: every 12 minutes
No through service from LOHAS Park to North Point, vice versa
Every day between 20:00 and 00:00
North Point - Po Lam trains: every 5 minutes
Tiu Keng Leng - LOHAS Park shuttle trains: every 12 minutes
No through service from LOHAS Park to North Point, vice versa
Every day after 00:00
North Point to Po Lam trains: every 6 minutes
Po Lam to North Point trains: every 8–9 minutes
Tiu Keng Leng - LOHAS Park shuttle trains: every 12 minutes
History
The Tseung Kwan O line was planned to serve the new town of Tseung Kwan O and was first proposed in 1981 as part of the Junk Bay New Town Transport Study.[4] The report proposed four corridors, all of which called for the Kwun Tong line to be extended to Lam Tin station and placed the terminus of the Tseung Kwan O line at the vicinity of Tsui Ping Estate.[5] The construction cost was estimated at HK$3 billion.[6] The construction of the Tseung Kwan O line was approved by the Hong Kong Government in 1985 and under the 1985 plan, a 7 km (4.3 mi) branch line from Lam Tin station to Tseung Kwan O station, consisting of 5 or 6 stations, was to be built beginning in 1992 and to open by the end of 1996.[7] This plan was cancelled by the MTR Corporation in August 1990.[8]
MTR re-proposed the line in 1993, and the plan was approved by the Hong Kong Executive Council on 20 October 1998. Construction commenced on 24 April 1999 and the line opened on 18 August 2002, at a cost of HK$18 billion.[9] The new line took over the cross-harbour segment, via the Eastern Harbour Crossing to North Point station, from the Kwun Tong line. The Kwun Tong line was extended to Yau Tong and Tiu Keng Leng stations to interchange with the new line.
Realignment of Kwun Tong line upon the inauguration of Tseung Kwan O line
Trains
The line is served by the K-Stock and M-Trains. The K-Stock trains were manufactured by a consortium of Hyundai Rotem and Mitsubishi Corporation, and were expected to be quieter and to use energy generated from deceleration.
Although tailor-made for the line, the K-Stock trains actually ran on the Kwun Tong line temporarily from launch through April 2010, and the original M-Trains ran on this line instead. The K-Stock trains were finally transferred to this line in April 2010.
Under an earlier proposal, called the "swap scheme", the line would have taken over the section of the Island line from Fortress Hill to Kennedy Town; with the remaining section east of Tin Hau being transferred to the Tung Chung line. This was rejected as the existing Island line would be interrupted and require an interchange.
In the Chief Executive's 2022 Policy Address, it was announced that the Tseung Kwan O line would be extended southwards to Tseung Kwan O Area 137, an 80 hectare plot of land the Development Bureau has identified suitable for the development of 50,000 new housing units. Area 137 is expected to take in new populations in 2030, but there has been no expected timeline for the completion of the extensions or the opening of the new station.[10][11]
^"Business Overview"(PDF). MTR. July 2021. p. 6. Archived(PDF) from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
^"Annual Report 2021"(PDF). MTR Corporation. 10 March 2022. p. 22. Archived(PDF) from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022. In 2021, we continued with the project to replace the existing signalling system ("SACEM System") on our four urban lines (Island, Tseung Kwan O, Kwun Tong and Tsuen Wan lines).
^《Junk Bay New Town Transport Study·RAIL TRANSPORT - ALTERNATIVE ALIGNMENTS》
^《Junk Bay New Town Transport Study· POSSIBLE MASS TRANSPORT ACCESS ROUTES》
^"支線全長約七公里 將有五至六個車站 經藍田調景嶺填海區直達將軍澳 近三十三萬人口保證乘客量足夠". Page 5 of Ta Kung Pao. 25 December 1987.(in Chinese)
^"李敦接受記者訪問表示 地鐵建將軍澳支線 財政安排正待批准 如獲港府批准將於九二年動工". Page 5 of Ta Kung Pao. 25 December 1987.(in Chinese)
^"地鐵已明確表態不興建將軍澳支線". Page 1 of Wah Kiu Yat Po (華僑日報). 27 August 1990.(in Chinese)
